Asian Americans are emerging as a political force and yet their politics have not been systematically studied by either social scientists or politicians. Asian American politics transcend simple questions of voting behavior and elective office, going all the way back to early immigration laws and all the way forward to ethnic targeting. For the first time, this book brings together original sources on key topics influencing Asian American politics, knit together by expert scholars who introduce each subject and place it in context with political events and the greater emerging literature. Court cases, legislation, demographics, and key pieces on topics ranging from gender to Japanese American redress to the Los Angeles riots to Wen Ho Lee round out this innovative reader on a politically active group likely to grow in number and electoral impact.

Don T. Nakanishi is director and professor of the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. James S. Lai is assistant professor of political science and ethnic studies at Santa Clara University.

It [the book] should be in all libraries concerned with diversity and Asian politics in the U.S. Essential. All levels.— CHOICE

This is a splendid collection. It brings together important historical documents and some of the most current analyses of Asian Pacific American politics. Professors Nakanishi and Lai have also provided succinct overviews that will be extremely helpful to newcomers to the field, making this volume valuable to everyone from specialists to introductory students.— Andrew L. Aoki, Augsburg College

This important book edited by Don T. Nakanishi and James S. Lai offers us one of the best historical and contemporary analyses of Asian Pacific American politics in America today. One of the important things one asks of a book is—'can it stand the test of time?' This book will meet that standard and more.— Michael B. Preston, University of Southern California

This book brings together original sources on key topics influencing AA politics, knit together by scholars who introduce each subject and place it in context with political events and the greater emerging literature.— Pacific Citizen

Asian Americans helped build this country, helped forge its laws, helped realize its bedrock values of equality and democracy. Some see us as foreign, and yet, as this book shows, we were there, marching in the streets, fighting in the courts, speaking out at every turn in the making of American law, culture, and politics.— Mari Matsuda, co-author with Charles Lawrence of We Won't Go Back: Making the Case for Affirmative Action

In the space of a single volume, this remarkable book offers a comprehensive revelation of the colorful and intricately woven threads in the complex tapestry of Asian American political life, from the 19th-century skirmishes with the Supreme Court to contemporary policy issues. Don T. Nakanishi and James S. Lai have accomplished a feat of significant proportion by joining their sweeping historical scope and a panoply of incisive analyses with the voices of Asian Americans in their own contexts. The result is both provocative and insightful.— Helen Zia, author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People

What makes this volume valuable for Asian Americanists is that it not only identifies and discusses a range of issues that we must examine in our efforts to understand Asian American politics, but that it also offers and maintains a methodologically inclusive approach. This book will inspire further critical examination of the political activities of Asian Americans, and will generate a variety of research regarding Asian Americans and their quest for political empowerment.— Journal of Asian American Studies

—The first comprehensive survey of Asian American politics.

—Original introductions and analysis by leading scholars.

—Key articles—both original and reprinted—by scholars, activists, politicians, and others.

—Packed with data, documents, transcripts, court cases, and more.

—Illustrated with photos, cartoons, woodcuts.

—Covers a wide range of issues from immigration and citizenship, to Japanese American internship and redress, to racial profiling, gender equity, and campaign participation.

Asian American Politics

Law, Participation, and Policy

Hardback

Paperback

Summary

Summary

Asian Americans are emerging as a political force and yet their politics have not been systematically studied by either social scientists or politicians. Asian American politics transcend simple questions of voting behavior and elective office, going all the way back to early immigration laws and all the way forward to ethnic targeting. For the first time, this book brings together original sources on key topics influencing Asian American politics, knit together by expert scholars who introduce each subject and place it in context with political events and the greater emerging literature. Court cases, legislation, demographics, and key pieces on topics ranging from gender to Japanese American redress to the Los Angeles riots to Wen Ho Lee round out this innovative reader on a politically active group likely to grow in number and electoral impact.

Don T. Nakanishi is director and professor of the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. James S. Lai is assistant professor of political science and ethnic studies at Santa Clara University.

It [the book] should be in all libraries concerned with diversity and Asian politics in the U.S. Essential. All levels.— CHOICE

This is a splendid collection. It brings together important historical documents and some of the most current analyses of Asian Pacific American politics. Professors Nakanishi and Lai have also provided succinct overviews that will be extremely helpful to newcomers to the field, making this volume valuable to everyone from specialists to introductory students.— Andrew L. Aoki, Augsburg College

This important book edited by Don T. Nakanishi and James S. Lai offers us one of the best historical and contemporary analyses of Asian Pacific American politics in America today. One of the important things one asks of a book is—'can it stand the test of time?' This book will meet that standard and more.— Michael B. Preston, University of Southern California

This book brings together original sources on key topics influencing AA politics, knit together by scholars who introduce each subject and place it in context with political events and the greater emerging literature.— Pacific Citizen

Asian Americans helped build this country, helped forge its laws, helped realize its bedrock values of equality and democracy. Some see us as foreign, and yet, as this book shows, we were there, marching in the streets, fighting in the courts, speaking out at every turn in the making of American law, culture, and politics.— Mari Matsuda, co-author with Charles Lawrence of We Won't Go Back: Making the Case for Affirmative Action

In the space of a single volume, this remarkable book offers a comprehensive revelation of the colorful and intricately woven threads in the complex tapestry of Asian American political life, from the 19th-century skirmishes with the Supreme Court to contemporary policy issues. Don T. Nakanishi and James S. Lai have accomplished a feat of significant proportion by joining their sweeping historical scope and a panoply of incisive analyses with the voices of Asian Americans in their own contexts. The result is both provocative and insightful.— Helen Zia, author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People

What makes this volume valuable for Asian Americanists is that it not only identifies and discusses a range of issues that we must examine in our efforts to understand Asian American politics, but that it also offers and maintains a methodologically inclusive approach. This book will inspire further critical examination of the political activities of Asian Americans, and will generate a variety of research regarding Asian Americans and their quest for political empowerment.— Journal of Asian American Studies

Features

Features

—The first comprehensive survey of Asian American politics.

—Original introductions and analysis by leading scholars.

—Key articles—both original and reprinted—by scholars, activists, politicians, and others.

—Packed with data, documents, transcripts, court cases, and more.

—Illustrated with photos, cartoons, woodcuts.

—Covers a wide range of issues from immigration and citizenship, to Japanese American internship and redress, to racial profiling, gender equity, and campaign participation.